In light of the importance of subject matter knowledge,
it is troubling to note how little experience many K-8
teachers have with certain disciplines, particularly math
and the physical sciences [8]. We have performed surveys
of students in courses for preservice teachers at our uni-
versity in which they were asked to report all high school
science courses (N¼ 124 ). While the data do not consti-
tute a formal study of student content knowledge, they do
give some sense of student science preparation. About 20%
of the students reported a strong background including
three or more years of science with at least one honors or
advanced placement (AP) course. Only a third of the
students reported taking any high school physics course.
In addition, 40% reported only two years of high school
science, the bare minimum to satisfy requirements. A
review of courses taken by multiple-subject credential
candidates at our university between Spring 2005 and
Spring 2009 shows similar trends, revealing that at best
20% had completed a college physics or chemistry course
[9]. Even if preservice teachers do take science content
courses, the research on what most students learn in those
courses is not encouraging [10]. In this paper we describe
one local response to these issues.
II. LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AND
CONSTRAINTSAny curricular change is of necessity situated in a local
context, and the context will impose constraints and chal-
lenges. In some cases, the issues will be of a general nature
so that solutions can be widely generalizable. Other con-
straints are likely to be idiosyncratic and a function of local
circumstances that are not likely to be repeated in other
institutions. California has a number of specific require-
ments for preservice teachers that may be unusual.
A. California State University
Fullerton (CSUF) environment
California State University Fullerton (CSUF) is a re-
gional comprehensive university in southern California.
CSUF primarily serves students from Orange, Los
Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. With 36 262 stu-
dents as of Fall 2009, CSUF has the largest enrollment of
the 23 campuses in the California State University (CSU)
system, and the second-largest enrollment of all California
universities. Until recently, the CSU system by state law
did not offer doctoral degrees; a joint doctoral program
offered by San Diego State University in partnership with
University of California San Diego is a notable exception.
In 2005, a state law was passed that allows the CSU system
to offer Ed.D. degrees, and CSUF is one of several cam-
puses that offers the Ed.D. in educational leadership.
CSUF, like most of the CSU campuses, offers bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in a wide variety of fields including
all of the sciences and mathematics.
B. State requirements for teacher preparation
In California, students seeking to teach grades K-8
pursue what is known as amultiple-subject credential.
Undergraduate students do not major in education.
Rather, they complete a bachelor’s degree in a content
discipline, typically Liberal Studies or Child and
Adolescent Studies, and then enter a postbaccalaureate
credential program. In order to qualify for the credential
program, prospective teachers are required to master a
series of content standards as articulated in a series of state
documents [11]. Mastery of these standards is demon-
strated by completion of a series of courses and/or stand-
ardized multiple-choice examination(s) [12]. Typically
students complete lower-division courses in several disci-
plines, with each university offering different courses that
meet these requirements. Most of these courses exist so
that students may fulfill general education (GE) require-
ments and are not particularly targeted toward preservice
teachers. The courses tend to be traditionally taught in
large lecture settings, with little opportunity for interaction
or discussion.
At CSUF, general education requirements for all stu-
dents include one course in biology, one in a physical or
Earth science, and one lab in any science. Students prepar-
ing for a multiple-subject credential have to satisfy addi-
tional requirements and typically take three lower-division
courses, one each in biology, physical science, and Earth
and space science, plus one upper-division course in either
life or physical science. Students admitted to the fifth-year
multiple-subject credential program often come from other
four-year schools with different requirements and may not
have completed all of the science courses. These three
science content areas do not perfectly match the depart-
mental structure in most universities, but they are tailored
to California’s K-12 science standards, particularly those
for grades 6, 7, and 8, which cover Earth science, life
science, and physical science, respectively. In particular,
physical science standards include both physics and chem-
istry content, a matter that has particular implications for
this work.C. Undergraduate reform initiative
The willingness of science content faculty at CSUF to
focus on nontraditional instructional strategies did not
develop overnight. A gradual evolution of interest began
in the early 1990s, with an increasing awareness of the
results of discipline-based education research and the re-
formed pedagogy resulting from this research. Several
members of the faculty of the College of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) at CSUF developed an
interest in reforming the teaching of lower-division science
courses. The Physics Department participated in several
NSF-funded projects in this vein: CSUF shared oversight
with Cal Poly Pomona for the Southern California Alliance
of Mentors for Physics Instruction [13], was a test site forLOVERUDE, GONZALEZ, AND NANES PHYS. REV. ST PHYS. EDUC. RES.7,010106 (2011)010106-2